Qiological Podcast

Ethics is never a simple black and white calculation, but rather the inquiry into proper relationship in a world filled with variability. It’s about considering the relationship with self, other, and society. And it’s a way to check ourselves for blind spots and to consider how our actions affect others, as well as ourselves.

In this conversation with Laura Christensen we explore common ethical issues that all acupuncturists are likely to run up against. And you might be surprised to hear about how when considering ethical modes of practice we not only need to consider our patients, but our selves as well. Not operating our businesses in a sustainable way can also be seen as an ethical issue, as we put a burden on our patients when we are overburdened.

Listen into this conversation on some surprising ways you might want to reconsider some of your ethical stances, and why there are situations where crossing ethical boundaries might be of benefit to the patient.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

There is a kind of poetry to Chinese characters. They gives hints and clues about the names we give to the world. They tell a story. 

In this conversation with Elisabeth Rochat we explore, like you’d explore bottles of fine wine, some of the meaning and nuance in the characters 意 yi， 通 tong， 命 ming，and 理 li. There are some delicious surprises in this conversation as I’m more conversant with the common meanings of these characters, and Elisabeth’s perspective gives me a whole new appreciation for Chinese language and thought. 

Listen in to this discussion of characters, medicine and what it takes to be a human being.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Jing, Qi and Shen— the three treasures. Like so many of these pithy quotes about Chinese medicine there is a lot here if you have taken the time to investigate it and see how it fits within your experience of practicing medicine. 

In this conversation with Yair Maimon we touch on the three treasures as they relate to treating cancer with acupuncture, immunology from Chinese medicine perspective, and ways of working with research that help us to further our understanding of our medicine here in the modern day.

Listen in to this discussion that touches both on the classics and modern day perspectives in health and healing.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

Chinese is not that easy, and the 文言文 (wen yan wen) the classical Chinese, that stuff is a whole other order of magnitude in challenge to the modern Western mind.

And yet if we are going to practice this medicine with deep roots into a long gone time and culture, we need access to the stepping stones that have been handed down to us over centuries through books and writing.

Translating language is one thing. But translating culture, bringing something of the mind and perception from another time, that is a whole other task.

It helps if you can understand the poetry, the stories, the world view and beliefs of the time. And it helps if you can track the changes in the meaning of words and ideas across the centuries of commentary.

In this episode we are sitting down for tea with Sabine Wilms, a self described "lover of dead languages," for a discussion of Resonance from chapter five of the Simple Questions.

Head on over to the show notes page for more information about this episode and for links to the resources discussed in the interview.  

The medical model is useful for certain conditions and problems. It also lends itself to a factory sort of medicine that allows a large number of people to be served using protocols and standard procedures. But when a patient’s issues don’t fit neatly into “the machine” then that system of medicine is not just not helpful, it can bring harm.

Engaging with a patient free of flowcharts and diagnostic codes invites into a space free of agenda and technique. It allows for a kind of non-doing that can allow for a patient connecting with resources they did not know they had.

Listen into this Part Two conversation with with Alice Whieldon on the cost of the medical model.